Commonly used legal English vocabulary

As a lawyer, you must master some commonly used legal English vocabulary. I have compiled some below.

Garnishee

Tertiary debts are the claims of the legal debtor, such as bank deposits, rent for rented houses, etc. Tertiary debts are the claims of the legal debtor. If the losing party fails to compensate the other party in accordance with the court's judgment, the winning party can issue a garnishment order against the losing party's tertiary debts and obtain judgment compensation from the tertiary debts.

Guarantee

A guarantor promises to compensate the guarantor for losses if someone does a specific act such as failing to make a payment on time.

Hearsay evidence

Hearsay evidence is not evidence given by a witness based on personal experience, but rather hearing statements from others, or submitting documents drafted by others, such as expense bills.

Implied terms

Implied terms refer to terms that are not expressly stipulated in the contract but are imposed by factual requirements, law or industry practice. For example, in an employment contract, although there is no provision that employees must be loyal and diligent, these conditions are actually implicit in the contract and are deemed to be valid.

Infringement

Infringement generally refers to the infringement of the civil rights of others, and is often used for intellectual property infringement. To illustrate: Using a registered trademark without the owner’s permission is a serious infringement of the owner’s exclusive rights.

Using a registered trademark without the owner's permission is a serious infringement of the owner's exclusive rights.

Injunction

An injunction is a court order prohibiting action or omission. The person subject to the injunction must obey the order's instructions, such as not to approach a person, etc., or to clear all Illegal buildings etc. Ignoring an injunction is an act of contempt of court and may result in fines or even jail time.

Document

Document A document that deals with legal matters and serves as evidence, such as a transfer document for the transfer of shares.

Temporary Orders

Temporary Orders A temporary order during the course of proceedings, such as a temporary maintenance order issued by the court in a divorce petition, which is replaced by a permanent order after the case has been heard.

Interlocutory order

An order made by the court during the course of the proceedings, for example, specifying that the parties must exchange a list of documents within 14 days, or granting a request by one party to extend the time for filing documents with the court application.

Intestate Estate

Intestate Estate If a person dies intestate, the deceased’s estate will be governed by the Intestate Estate Ordinance. (IEO), but before the estate is distributed, the qualified person named in the IEO should apply to the Probate Division of the High Court to become the administrator of the estate of the deceased.

In this case, the High Court Administrator will be responsible for distributing the estate of the deceased.

Ultra vires

Within the scope of authority A person must be authorized to act within the scope of his or her authority, any act done without authorization is outside the scope of his or her authority (ultra vires).

Questions

Questions, issues, heirs Questions can be interpreted in many ways, for example: 1: 1. Question: The writ was issued more than one year ago. The writ was issued more than a year ago. 2. Issue: The issue in this action is the date of the contract. The issue in this action is the date of the contract. Problem: None of his problems will benefit from his legacy.

Tenancy in common

Tenancy in common Two people*** own a property together either as a tenant in common or as a tenant in common. Tenancy in common, often referred to as a "longevity" deed, means that two parties own the property jointly, so that when one party dies, the remaining party owns the property alone.

Lapse

Loss of Time During the negotiation process, an offer loses its validity after the specified time limit for consideration has passed. For example: after the time limit is exceeded, the offer automatically expires.

Leave

The term permission to leave is usually interpreted as "leaving", but in law it is used as permission from the court, for example: it is necessary to apply to the court for permission in order to Submit documents outside of hours. It is necessary to apply to the court for permission to file documents beyond the time limit.

Liens

A lien is the right to retain another person's property, usually as security for or in exchange for repayment.

Limitation Period

Limitation Period In civil claims, there is usually a specified period after which special permission from the court must be obtained in order to proceed with the claim or action. For contractual disputes, the time limit is 6 years, but for disputes involving contracts, the time limit is 12 years. The time limit for employee injury claims is 2 years from the date of the accident, while the time limit for other injury claims is 3 years.

Liquidated damages

Liquidated damages are a specific amount of money that a plaintiff seeks in a civil lawsuit. If the defendant receives a summons and pays the plaintiff a specified amount of damages, the plaintiff has no further claim and the case is over.

List

Scheduling

When a case reaches the stage where it can be heard in court, you can apply to the court to include the case in the fixed list or floating list. Conduct trial.

Alimony

Alimony, Alimony The act of one person financially giving to another person is called alimony. In family law, providing maintenance to a spouse for children is called maintenance.

Cause of action

Legal cause of action The facts in a lawsuit that provide the plaintiff with a legal basis for prosecution or provide a defense for the defendant.

Crime of misappropriation

It is a crime of misappropriation to misappropriate the property of others without the consent of the owner and there is evidence that the misappropriator intends to permanently possess the property.

Reducing punishment

Requesting a lighter punishment, reduced punishment 1. In a criminal case, the defendant requests the court for a lighter punishment, and the court will decide based on whether the defendant has committed a crime. Appropriate sentencing will be carried out based on the criminal record, family background, whether there is any remorse, etc. 2. In a civil damages action, although the defendant is responsible for compensating the plaintiff's losses, the plaintiff is also responsible for mitigating the defendant's losses.

Biological children

Biological children refer to biological children, but they can be born in wedlock or out of wedlock (legitimate children).

Others

Litigation Protector Litigation Protector is used when the litigant is a minor or a patient and needs to be represented by a Litigation Protector.

Nolle presequi

Nolle prosequi terminates the lawsuit, that is, the plaintiff promises to the defendant to terminate the prosecution against the defendant. Unlike civil cases, in a criminal case, even if the Attorney General files a stay of proceedings, it does not mean that the defendant will not be prosecuted for the same offense again.

Non est factum

It is not my deed Non est factum is often used as a defense by defendants who claim that the defendant did not sign the document or that the defendant did not know the contents of the document when he signed it . p> Notice to quit

Notice to vacate In a landlord-tenant relationship, either party may give notice to the other party as notice to terminate the tenancy. However, under the Landlord and Tenant (Amalgamation) Ordinance, the notice served by the landlord on the tenant must comply with the time limits specified in the Ordinance. A tenant's notice to vacate cannot be used to terminate a tenancy unless both parties agree or there is a provision in the tenancy agreement.

Nullity of Marriage

Nullity of Marriage There are certain statutory restrictions on the judgment of nullity of marriage due to the man’s sexual impotence or the woman’s refusal to have sexual relations with the man after marriage. If the marriage is annulled, the parties are unmarried, not divorced.

Side opinions

Side opinions are side opinions made by the judge when deciding a case that do not affect the final judgment. It does not affect the final judgment of the case.

Receiver

The Receiver is a government position.

He handles corporate insolvency or liquidation matters. His office is located on the 10th floor of Queensway Government Offices, Hong Kong.

Burden of proof

Burden of proof See Burden of Proof for details.

Public Contract

Contract with Incomplete Conditions There are many links in the establishment of a contract, including the basic contractor, contract period, contract method, responsibilities of both parties, etc. However, if the contract lacks elements such as execution time between the parties, it may be called an incomplete contract. (For more information on contract formation, see the Legal Knowledge section).

Discharge of Bankruptcy Order

Discharge of Bankruptcy Order According to current law, if an individual is judged bankrupt by the court, he will be subject to various restrictions after bankruptcy, including being unable to serve as a director of a company and being unable to participate in Company management, being unable to borrow money from others without exposing your bankruptcy status, etc. A bankruptcy court may grant an individual a discharge from bankruptcy if the court is permitted to issue a bankruptcy order after bankruptcy. If the court issues a discharge order after bankruptcy, the individual is free to return to their lives.

Ordinary resolutions

Ordinary resolutions are resolutions that are approved by more than half of the voters at the company's shareholders' meeting, and are different from special resolutions and special resolutions.

Overruling

Overruling means that the higher court overturns the judgment of the lower court. It can be the overturning of the judgment of the original court by the Court of Appeal, or the overturning of the judgment of the Court of Appeal by the Court of Final Appeal.

Pardon

Pardon refers to the revocation of a prisoner's conviction or sentence through pardon. The prisoner is not allowed to commit the same crime again after being pardoned.

Partial Intestacy

Partial intestacy means that the deceased’s will does not include the deceased’s entire estate. For example, the deceased's will only mentions the disposition of property and cash (including bank deposits), but the deceased also has stocks, shares and other jewelry that are not mentioned in the will. Therefore, these unmentioned assets need to be settled according to the law of intestate succession. to handle.

Personal Service

Personal service is the delivery of documents from a court or law firm to a person who will receive them in person. In some cases, a court or law may require special methods of service, one of which may be in-person service, and another may be by registered mail or public notice.

Personam

People and things are opposite. Its Latin meaning is of or relating to persons.

Complaint

Complaint In law, a complaint may be a divorce complaint or a bankruptcy complaint and is filed in the form of a pleading.

Actual Possession

Actual possession differs from other forms of possession because if a person actually takes possession of the item, it means that person actually takes possession of the item. However, actual possession does not equal ownership of the item. For example, if a buyer places an order with a seller and the seller specifically separates the item from other goods and the buyer has paid all the money, the seller is not the owner of the item, although he still has physical possession of the item.

Plaintiff

A plaintiff is usually the party in a lawsuit who serves a subpoena against the defendant, and can be an individual or company, or the government.

Possessory title

Possession of land This is a right to possess land without any contractual support, mainly because the possessor has occupied it for a long time The property and no objection has been raised, the occupier can therefore register the land and become the registered owner of the land.

Power of Attorney

A power of attorney is a contract that confers certain powers to another person. It is most commonly used in property management, for example, where the owner has moved abroad and entrusted a trustworthy person to manage the owner's property in Hong Kong, or appointed an attorney to rent or sell the property for the owner.

Pre-emptive rights

Pre-emptive rights are most often used to sell shares in a limited company because the company's articles of association usually provide that if a company shareholder wants to sell company shares, it must first buy them from existing shareholders , this is mainly to prevent foreigners from interfering in the company's business.

Premium

Premium is widely used in Hong Kong for land transfer in the New Territories or the Housing Department's Home Ownership Scheme. If the seller wants to sell the property, he must first pay the land price and get the land price paper before he can sell the property.

Today's buying and selling situation also allows the seller to pay the premium after receiving payment from the buyer.

Presumed dead

According to Hong Kong law, if a spouse has been missing for seven years or more, the surviving spouse can apply to the court to presume the missing spouse is dead. If ordered by the court, the surviving spouse can settle the estate of the missing spouse.

Injunction

An injunction is usually issued by a creditor against a debtor. The debtor must prove to the court that the debtor intends to evade the debt and will flee Hong Kong.

Sentencing

The amount of damages. In civil litigation, especially some personal injury compensation cases, many times the defendant has to bear the liability for compensation, but the amount of compensation can only be determined by the amount of compensation. The amount is a sentencing issue.

Factual issues

Factual issues are based entirely on facts, not law, and must be decided by the court. For example, in the rape case, the victim said that she was raped by the defendant, and the defendant said that the victim consented to sexual intercourse. Therefore, the factual issue in this case is the existence of sexual intercourse, but whether there was sexual intercourse involves legal issues.

Legal Issues

If the decision is based on a question of fact, it will be difficult to infer from the Court of Appeal the decision of the lower court unless the circumstances are very exceptional. This is different with legal issues, which litigants can usually appeal.

The right to enjoy quilts

The right to enjoy quilts generally appears in the lease. Even if the lease does not expressly stipulate that the landlord must provide an environment for enjoying quilts, it can also become a general part of the tenant's lease. Implied terms. ;